December 1, 2019
by VR Trakowski
Summary: Lily finds the perfect gift for Sev. Part of the 31 Days of Ficmas.


**Happy December! I'm attempting the 31 Days of Ficmas prompts, which are apparently open to any fandom.**

**I do reserve the right to quit at any time. :P**

**This one is a post-fic for my HP AU _Through Grace_. The prompt is "workshop".**

* * *

It was almost finished.

Lily gave the cauldron one last stir and straightened to stretch her back; this recipe called for strict concentration and she wasn't a young woman any longer.

_It's worth any amount of aches, though._ Sev had learned to let much of his guilt go, over the years, but there were still things that bothered him even though she cared not a whit about them. _Well, that's what this is designed to help._

And Lily knew Sev would be more than happy to rub her back for her later. She smiled and turned back to the potion, the forefront of her mind going over the recipe while the back pondered their life together.

It had been almost ten years, now, since a maddened Bellatrix Lestrange had found a way between universes, and while she had died of it Lily had gotten the one thing she most desired, and had no hope of getting back - Severus, alive and in her arms again. Her husband, murdered by Voldemort while protecting their daughter, gone for twenty years; then, by utter and ridiculous chance, come back to her.

_Not really my Sev,_ she admitted, watching the bubbling potion most carefully. _But ask me if I care._ She knew the story from his own memories - turned to darkness after their quarrel in school, and his world's version of Lily wedding James Potter and birthing a son. Only to perish at Voldemort's hand.

That bitter, defeated, weary man had chosen to leave his world behind and enter hers. And slowly his bitterness had leached away. Lily had tended him as carefully as one of her own garden plants, and delighted to see him gradually blossom - never brightly, Sev was a man of twilight and shadows, but he had relaxed in the warmth of her love, and returned it as fiercely.

But one thing in particular still bothered him. So Lily laboured over her potion, careful of the timing.

_He is my gift. So this is my gift to him._

* * *

Christmas Day was both merry and peaceful. There was breakfast and gifts with Heather and Ginny, and then they were off to the Burrow for dinner with all the Weasleys. Lily and Severus had a standing invitation, of course, and some years they accepted, but Lily knew Sev preferred the quiet of their home.

Now he sat on the carpet, long legs outstretched, and leaned his head against her knee where she sat on the couch. Lily let her fingers play through his soft hair; the early dusk had fallen and the light from the fire was gentle on his harsh features. Sev's hand was curled around her calf, and she knew from his lidded eyes and soft mouth that he was content.

But the potion waited. She tweaked his ear gently. "One last gift."

Sev looked up. "You have given me plenty already," he protested, smiling, and Lily slid down to sit beside him.

"Indulge me." She snapped her fingers, and the phial flew to her hand from the darkness outside the firelight, trailing ribbons. "Here."

Sev cocked a brow. "What is it?" He took the little bottle and loosened the stopper, sniffing cautiously. "Bittermint, wormwood, adder's tongue...a touch of sulfur…"

"Bone scrapings, and some honey to sweeten it." Lily blinked at him, looking demure. "It took a while to find the recipe, and I'm not entirely sure it will work, but…"

"A properly constructed potion always works," Sev countered automatically, and then his eyes went wide as he worked out the formula.

She closed her hand over his, folding their fingers around the phial. "You don't have to, love. It's a choice, not a requirement."

Lily meant it. This was a big step, and she'd sprung it on him without warning. If he wasn't ready...well, the potion would keep.

Sev stared at her for a long, long moment...then raised the phial to his lips, and swallowed the liquid in one gulp.

Lily's heart bounded in her chest. Sev took one breath, two...then looked down at his left arm, clenching his fist. "Does it hurt?" Lily asked, worried.

He shook his head. "It's gone numb." He blinked rapidly, flexing his wrist, then tore at the buttons at his throat. "Help me - "

Together they removed his crisp white shirt, too distracted to find a wand. Beneath it he was familiar, pale scarred skin, ribs still visible no matter how she fed him, scars from dark duels.

But the bony arm he kept hidden was - bare. Unblemished.

_Clean_.

Lily reached out, giving him time to pull back, but Sev didn't move, staring down at the unmarked skin. It was cool under her fingertips, residue of the potion's work, but it warmed at her touch.

Sev made a choked noise, and Lily looked up in alarm. But it wasn't pain that made his face twist; or not physical pain. He bent over his arm, hair swinging down to hide his face, and Lily wrapped her own arms around him, feeling him shudder and gasp.

She held him a long time, until he could uncurl and meet her brimming eyes. His own were reddened, but filled with light; and his smile was like dawn breaking.

That night, for the first time, he wore no shirt to bed. And in the darkness Lily knew she had chosen the perfect gift.


End file.
